AGNOSCERE. An open house to global citizens

Post No. 36 Seat Oats. A tall grass (Uniola paniculate) that has panicles resembling those of the oat, grows chiefly on the coast of the southern U.S. and is useful as a sand binder (Merriam Webster Dictionary). Sea oats is a long lived, slow growing, warm season, perennial grass commonly associated with the upper dunes along beach fronts. It grows erect to approximately 6 feet in height at maturity and has leaves that can grow to 24 inches in length. The leaves are narrow, less than 1 inch in width, and taper towards their ends. Seat oats is very drought tolerant. This species produces a massive root system and will tolerate salt spray and brief inundation with salt water. It prefers full sun, and thrives in areas with blowing sand, such as dunes along the upper beach front. Sea oats is an extremely valuable plant for coast line and barrier island protect. Its massive root system is capable of holding soil and sand in place during extreme weather events such as hurricanes a

Post No. 35. Red Mangroves Rhizophora mangle, known as ‘the red mangrove’ are distributed in estuarine (partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water [water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater] with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea) ecosystems throughout the tropic. Rhizopora mangle grows on aerial prop roots, which arc above the water level, giving stands of this tree the characteristic “mangrove” appearance. It is a valuable plant in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas coastal ecosystems. The red mangrove is considered an invasive species (plant, fungus, or animal species that is not native to a specific location [ an introduced species] and that has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.) in some locations, where it forms dense, monospecific ( agricultural practice of producing or growing a single crop, plant , or livestoc

Post No. 34. Icaco. Icaco or Chrysboalanus Icaco, the cocoplum, paradise plum, abajeru or icaco, is found near sea beaches and inland throughout tropical Africa, Caribbean and in southern Florida. Coco-plums are three quarter patriotic: They can be red, white, or blue (and yellow). The “blue” is deep purple and the yellow more a cream. Trees near the shore tend to have light colored fruit that is round whereas a variation inland tends to be oval and red to dark purple. The oil in the kernel can be substituted for almond oil. The seed is about 21% oil by weight. The oil can also be used to make candles, soap, and axle grease. The coco plum fruit possess a slightly sweet flavor and can be eaten raw out of hand or also be used in preserves. The seed of the plant is also edible as it has high oil content and a nutty flavor, but somewhat bland it is also reported to be a good honey plant. Medicinally, it is used internally against dysentery, dyspepsia, and diarrhea an

Post No. 33. Aloe Vera. Aloe Vera is a plant that has been used for medicinal purposes for some 6,000 years. Ancient Egyptians depicted the plant on stone carvings. It was given to pharaohs as a burial gift and called the plant of immortality. The leaves of the aloe Vera plant, also known as the lily oft the desert, are filled with a clear gel that is used topically. The outer green part of the leaves are used to make Aloe Vera juice for internal use. There is no medical evidence that aloe Vera helps tighten skin but there’s no harm trying it. Aloe Vera is a succulent plant species (plants that have some parts that are more than normally thickened and fleshy, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word “succulent” comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning juice, or sap. Succulent plants may store water in various structures, such as leaves and stems.) of the genus Aloe. An evergreen perennial, it originates from the Arabian Peninsula but grows wild i

Post No. 32. Ferns Ferns are a very ancient family of plants and belongs to a group of vascular plants and unlike other vascular plants they reproduce from spores in a stage called a gametophyte and have neither seeds nor flowers. They are older than land animals and far older than the dinosaurs. They were living on Earth for two hundred million years before the flowering plants evolved. Ferns first appear in the fossil record about 360 million yeas ago in the late Devonian period, but many of the current families and species did not appear until roughly 145 million years ago in the early Cretaceous, after flowering plants came to dominate many environments.   Some ferns are used as food, medicine, biofertilizer and ornamental plants and for remediating contaminated soil. They have been the subject of research for their ability to remove some chemical pollutants from the atmosphere. They play certain roles in mythology and art. (Photo was taken from my visit to Fern Nature C

Post No. 31. Why the Pedestrian Bridge  over the (FIU) collapsed? On March 15 th , 2018 the pedestrian bridge over the FIU ( Florida International University)  in Miami  collapsed during the process of post-tension rod adjustment when it suddenly failed and unfortunately and several occupied vehicles were crushed underneath, and six deaths and nine injuries have been reported. They were innocent victims that we should regret. I visited the site two days later and at the time the crews were proceeding to extract cars with victims inside and the photograph above was the closest I could get. The $14.2 million project was funded with a $19.4 million TIGER grant from the United States Department of Transportation in 2013, along with state agencies. The bridge itself cost $9 million to construct. The section of the bridge that collapsed weighed 950 short tons and fell onto the vehicles on the roadway There are many theories about the main reasons that caused this tragedy and a

Post No. 30. Coconut crab (Birgus Latro) is a species of terrestrial hermit crab.  I found them on my last visit to the Anne Kolb Nature Center . They were very small and I was not able to take photos of them. these crab climb trees. Probably they are not exactly the Birgus Latro but similar. Great surprise and good learning. Related Video:  Coconut Crab I Climbing Competition? Who’s faster? Time: 5:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPDcWdQWovI